Darkness Rising
by Axed
Summary: AU - With The First Evil defeated and hundreds of Slayers called worldwide, Buffy must face the world’s ultimate threat, originating from within herself, in one final apocalyptic battle.
1. Prologue

Title: Darkness Rising  
  
Summary: With The First Evil defeated and hundreds of Slayers called worldwide, Buffy must face the world's ultimate threat, originating from within herself, in one final apocalyptic battle.  
  
Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, have not created these characters, nor do I own any of them. Buffy, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Giles, and the rest of the Scooby Gang are the sole property of Joss Whedon and of the Mutant Enemy company. The story itself, however, is mine. Enjoy.

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**Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer...**  
A strong wind swept through the principal's office, and a bright light shone down on Willow as her fingers made contact with the Scythe containing the very essence of the Slayer. She couldn't help but stop mumbling the incantation that she was performing as she felt an incredibly powerful force rock through her body, shaking her right down to her core. Her eyes widened and her hair turned the purest shade of white as the power surged through her.  
  
"Oh. My. Goddess."  
  
As quickly as it had begun, the energy sprung forth from her body and was unleashed worldwide. Almost instantly, every single girl in the world who may have one day been the Slayer was called. Girls everywhere were being awakened with a new strength, duty, and destiny; to help fight the battle against Evil and protect the entire human race.  
  
Among them, a group of girls, an army, down underneath the school. The largest fight in all of Sunnydale's history was about to commence. The First Evil, the very source of all Evil in the world, had been busy for the past year preparing to raise an army of prehistoric vampires known as the Turok-han.  
  
Slayers versus Vampires; it all came down to this one fight. If the Slayers won then the world would be safe for a while longer. If not, it would most definitely be the end. The First Evil's army would spread throughout the world like a plague, infecting every mortal with the essence of a demon. When the masses were turned into vampires the scales between Good and Evil would tip. The First Evil would be made flesh, and would be rendered unstoppable.  
  
It all rested on Willow's shoulders to call the army of Potentials as Slayers. Without the power of the Slayer, the group of girls would fail. Now that her part was complete, there was nothing more for her to do. Her hair returned to its fiery red colour as the force left her body, and she collapsed into a heap on the floor. Now she had nothing to do but wait.

* * *

Below Willow, underneath the school and in the very depths of the Hellmouth, the battle raged on. Casualty numbers were large on both sides, and soon the vampires began to outnumber the army of Slayers. Just when Buffy thought that all hope was lost, something happened.  
  
The amulet that Spike was wearing kicked in. He let loose a scream of pain and anguish as the amulet shot a ray of energy through the ceiling of the cave, blasting through the school's floors and ceilings and exposing the sunlight. The light filtered back down onto Spike, through the amulet, and surged out into the cave. Thousands upon thousands of Turok-hans were vaporized as the sun touched their skin. The cave walls began to shake from the cleansing power, and debris began falling from the ceiling as the place started to collapse upon itself.  
  
Taking this as their cue to leave, Faith rallied the army out of the Hellmouth and out of the school. She called out to her sister Slayer to come, but quickly ran up and out to safety when Buffy, who was standing in front of Spike, waved her off.  
  
"You've done enough! There's still time," she cried out to Spike, not understanding why he wasn't trying to escape. She glanced around frantically at the carnage before turning back to him. Their eyes locked, and as much as Spike wanted to believe her, he knew what he had to do.  
  
"No...you've done what you can, it's up to me to do the clean-up." He looked back at Buffy, the sunlight pouring through him, into his very soul, and out through the amulet, cleansing all evil and impurities left in the Hellmouth, killing off the last of the fearsome Turok-han. "I have to do this."  
  
Buffy's heart tugged at her, calling at her to just grab him and make a run for it, but she knew she couldn't. She knew what had to be done.  
  
Slowly, without making much movement, she raised her arm and took his hand in her own. Their fingers interlocked, entwining themselves in one another, and in a second Spike's hand burst into flames with Buffy's still in it. She didn't feel any pain as their hands burned. Despite the chaos, death, and destruction that had just gone down all around them in the caverns below Sunnydale High School, Buffy felt at peace. She felt whole. Complete.  
  
And the fire burned.  
  
In that instant, she knew what would happen.  
  
Spike would die.  
  
For all the evil and carnage he'd caused when he was a vampire, he more than made up for it during the past couple of years, especially after having his soul restored. He loved her unconditionally, and she would be forever grateful for that. These were his last moments, she knew, and she had to give something back to him. She swallowed, took a deep breath, and looked deep into his eyes.  
  
"I love you."  
  
Spike blinked in disbelief, but quickly fought back his shock, and tears, with a sly smile. "No, you don't," was his response. "But thanks for saying it."  
  
She smiled back at him. She knew that at that point it was no use to argue, that there wasn't any time left. The place was literally falling down around them. A tremor shook the ground on which they were standing, shaking them both and forcing their hands apart.  
  
Spike broke the eye contact and looked out at the destruction. "Now go," he cried out to her.  
  
With one final glance at him, Buffy dashed up the stairs and out of the Seal in the high school's basement, leaving Spike alone. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself, reveling in the irony of it all, how he, the newly ensouled vampire, could enjoy such annihilation and brutality as was taking place around him. "I want to see how it ends."  
  
With that he felt the sunlight burn all throughout him as the amulet ceased to work it's magick. Slowly, painfully, the light ate away at him even as the vast cavern collapsed around him. First his skin, then his muscle tissue, and finally, his bones.  
  
His entire body disintegrated into dust as he finally achieved not only the goal that the Scooby Gang had set out to accomplish, to squash The First Evil, but also that which he had decided upon for himself.  
  
Redemption.

* * *

Outside of the school, Dawn helped to rally up the remaining survivors. She looked around the group, assessing the damage. She knew going into the battle that not everyone was going to make it, and by merely looking around, she realized how true this was. People were gone, missing in action. Amanda, her friend from school, Anya, Xander's sort-of girlfriend, and...  
  
_Buffy_, she thought to herself. _Where are you?_  
  
She tried to see in through the high school's doors to see if her sister was anywhere to be found, but so far there was nothing. She lost sight of the doors however when the school and the surrounding area started shaking violently. Panic arose within her, and she knew that if Buffy didn't emerge soon, it might be too late.  
  
Dawn did her best to swallow her fear when Giles began instructing the senior Scoobies to get the Slayers away from the school. Turning towards the group, she helped Xander, Faith, and Giles in moving any injured girls away from the school grounds. Something severe was about to happen, and none of them felt particularly inclined to be near the school when it did.  
  
Turning back to look for Buffy again, Dawn's heart nearly stopped when she heard an explosion from within the school, and saw a massive cloud of dust shoot out from the main doors. A deep rumbling sound emanated from the school, and she could hear concrete grinding against itself. Dawn realized that it was most likely too late, and she struggled to fight back tears. Then, just as she was about to turn away from the destruction before her, something caught her eye. Something other than dust shot out of the main doors, and she was beyond relieved to find that it was her sister.  
  
Dawn smiled her biggest smile ever as she saw her soot-covered sister dash out of the doors. Dawn reached out to hug her, but instead Buffy grabbed her by the shoulders and ran. When they'd both caught up with the rest of the group, they turned back to look at the scene before them.  
  
The school was literally collapsing upon itself. More explosions and grinding was heard, and a few creaks and groans later the entire school was sucked into the ground, leaving nothing more than a cloud of dust and a crater as large as the perimeter of the building itself.  
  
For the longest time, everyone just stood there, in complete shock. Giles took a step towards the crater, and was the first to break the silence. "I don't understand what did this."  
  
Buffy didn't move, only stared into the center of the crater where she'd stood mere minutes earlier. Her answer was short, but full of emotion and meaning. "Spike," she responded.  
  
No one said anything else. Each was left with their own thoughts. When it all came down to it, they had won. The First Evil had been defeated, and its army had been stopped. The Hellmouth was closed, and soon the residents of Sunnydale could begin moving back into town.  
  
Buffy looked into the pit, and despite the casualties they had suffered, she couldn't help but smile. She was no longer the one and only Chosen. With the essence of the Slayer released, hundreds of girls worldwide were called, with a newfound strength, courage, and duty. She no longer had to fight the battle herself.  
  
Buffy, at long last, could rest.


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

_Buffy looks around the cave. The stench of the mildew on the walls fills her lungs, and she almost chokes on it. Moisture drips off the ceiling and rolls down the walls, and the water pools around her sneakers._

_She turns around to look behind her and sees three men holding staffs, dressed in robes. She recognizes the men, and the sense of power that is radiating off of them. They don't notice her, as they seem intently focused on one area of the cave. They are staring at something that she can't see at the moment. Their backs are to her, and they are blocking whatever it is they are looking at. Although she can't see it, she can definitely hear the noise that whatever-it-is is making. It is loud, it is scared, and it is angry._

_Buffy moves to the side, quietly, even though she knows that the men can't see or hear her. She wants to get a better look at whatever it is they find so interesting. It seems though that every time she starts to get a glimpse of it, the men reposition themselves to cover it up._

_Although quiet when she first arrived, the cave is now filled with cries of anguish, mixed with the sound of...chains. There is a distinct sound of the rattling of heavy chains, and with each clank there is a cry of protest and despair to follow it._

_Finally, Buffy manages to move so that the men are no longer in her way, and she recognizes who she sees. It is a girl, chained to the ground. Not just any girl though. She's seen this girl before, on several different occasions. She realizes that it is the Primal._

_The First Slayer._

_Thick chains bind her arms and legs to the ground, and she tries with an animalistic ferocity to break them. She pulls, pulls, pulls, but to no avail. Buffy tries to help, reaches out to provide some form of aide, but her hands pass right through the specter. She has a hard time watching the girl as she struggles to escape, because she knows what is going to come next._

_Suddenly there is another layer of noise added on top of the already deafening sounds of the attempted escape. The men have begun chanting. Buffy doesn't recognize the language, but she knows enough of what's happening to be able to piece together the scene. She turns around and screams out for them to stop, please, for the love of God stop, but they don't listen to her. She backhands one, kicks the other in the chest, but it does nothing. She has no affect on the scene playing out before her._

_Just as quickly as it had begun, the chanting suddenly stops. The men simultaneously tap the ends of their sticks against the cave's murky ground three times before falling completely silent. The Primal screams, and fights, and screams, but it doesn't matter now. It's too late. Buffy glances around nervously as the cave shakes, as pieces of stone fall from the ceiling. She tries to take cover from a large piece of granite, but it passes right through her as if she wasn't even there._

_Buffy notices that the ground has begun to open. A large crack about five feet wide has appeared in the ground between the three men and the girl. The crack widens as the cave groans under the pressure, and soon a dark mist begins to emerge from the slit in the ground._

_The girl is now silent._

_The mist rises, rises, and begins to expand. Soon it covers the entire ceiling of the cavern. Even if her eyes were closed, Buffy would still know it was there. She would still be able to feel it, to sense it, to taste it. The demonic presence of this force overwhelms her. The sheer darkness of it is almost too much to handle. She wants to run away, to leave this place far behind, but she knows she has to stay, has to watch._

_When the last of the mist leaves the crack it freezes suddenly. It remains perfectly still on the ceiling of the cave. The Primal is looking up at it with wonder, and with fear. Buffy isn't the only one who can feel it. The girl begins to scream again, while the men simply watch._

_As soon as she opens her mouth to scream, the dark mist reanimates itself. It quickly shoots down from the ceiling and enters into the girl's mouth, nostrils, and ears. It goes into her body with no regard to the pain it is causing her. She is shrieking louder than Buffy has ever heard anyone shriek before. It almost seems demonic, almost non-human._

_That's when Buffy realizes that she is screaming as well. The Primal isn't the only one suffering. As the mist enters the chained girl's body, Buffy herself can feel what the girl must be feeling. An intense, sharp pain shoots throughout Buffy's body, and the pain blinds her. It feels like every cell in her body is being torn apart from the inside out, being ripped to shreds. She no longer feels any form, only pain. It shakes her right down to her core. She wonders how the First Slayer managed to survive this torment when she became the very first Chosen One, and she briefly wonders if she will survive it as well. An extreme cold wraps around her, and she struggles to maintain herself, but she knows that she is losing. She knows that the dark mist will destroy her. It's only a matter of time._

_She begins to surrender herself to the pain. She realizes that she has no choice, and that there is nothing left for her to do, that there is nothing else she CAN do. Slowly, painfully, Buffy gives in to the darkness._

* * *

Buffy shot straight up in bed and let out a gasp, trying to regain her composure. Her body was covered in a cold sweat, and she pulled the blankets up around her top in an attempt to warm herself up. She glanced around her room, expecting to see...she didn't know what. It was half-past-three in the morning, and the final battle with The First Evil had been over a month ago. She was still a little jumpy, and the dream didn't help much. She made a mental note to mention it to Giles. After all, prophetic dreams often plagued the Slayer. _Better safe than sorry_, she thought to herself.

Swinging her legs over the edge of her bed, she slid her feet into her fuzzy slippers and reached over to her chair to grab her housecoat. After wrapping the belt around her waist, she headed out of her dark bedroom and downstairs towards the kitchen.

The first thing Buffy did when she entered the room was find the light switch and turn it on. She squinted as the overhead lamp bathed the room with its blinding glow, but she didn't mind as her eyes quickly adjusted. The past seven months or so had been hell on her, and everyone, and after such a long period of feeling like she had to continuously watch her back, she couldn't seem to shake off the last little bit of her paranoia. At least the light provided her with some sort of comfort. Less shadows meant less places for a demon of some sort to jump out from and attack her.

Buffy walked over to the cupboard, opened it up, and pulled out a glass. She made her way over to the faucet and turned it on. She didn't do anything at first to give the water time to get cold. She stood over the sink, glass in hand, lost in her own thoughts. They'd won the battle, sure, but there were casualties. Some people hadn't made it. Some she would never see again.

_Spike._

Her thoughts trailed back, for the hundredth or so time, to their last moment together. She'd told him that she loved him, and she meant it. Whether or not he believed her, she didn't know, but she wished that there were some way that she could convince him. If only she'd been given a little more time...

_That doesn't matter now_, she thought to herself. _It's done. He's gone. Forever._

A sudden noise from behind her made her jump, and Buffy snapped back into reality as the glass tumbled out of her hand and went crashing into the sink below. She glanced briefly at the broken shards of glass before turning to the back door. Kennedy stood in the doorway, dirtied, bruised, and bloody. Her clothes were torn in several places, and she was gasping for breath.

"Kennedy," Buffy said. "What's wrong? What were you doing out?"

Kennedy only stood there, staring off into space. Buffy knew the look all too well, having perfected the thousand-mile-stare herself. Something was bothering Kennedy. She wasn't the type of girl to let a broken nail upset her; this was serious.

"Here, sit down," she said as she pulled up one of the stools surrounding the island in the middle of the kitchen. Kennedy stumbled over and very slowly lowered herself down onto it, still not saying a word.

"What happened out there?" No response came. "Kennedy, what were you doing out?" Still nothing.

Quickly, Buffy went upstairs to the bathroom to grab the first-aid kit. On her way back downstairs she knocked on Willow's bedroom door, not wanting to wake her up, but feeling as if she didn't have much of a choice. Buffy slowly opened the door and poked her head in. There was Willow, sitting up in bed with a small bedside lamp on, trying to read.

Willow looked up at her best friend. "Hey Buff, what's up? You're up late."

"Yeah, couldn't sleep," Buffy responded. "There's umm...I think there's something wrong. It's Kennedy." Buffy watched as Willow's eyes widened. She could sense Willow's concern for her girlfriend, and she was quick to try to ease her worries. "Oh it's nothing that bad, I don't think anyway."

"Is she...?"

"Alive. Trying to look deep into the cosmos though. Could probably use some bandaging up." She held up the first-aid kit, and Willow nodded. She slipped out of bed and her and Buffy both descended the stairs, back into the well-lit kitchen.

Kennedy was in exactly the same position she'd been left in. Buffy placed the kit on the counter and opened it up as Willow sat down in front of Kennedy. Taking out some rubbing alcohol, gauze, and bandages, Buffy quickly set to work at patching Kennedy up.

"What happened, baby," Willow asked her lover. For the first time since arriving home, Kennedy's gaze shifted, and she made eye contact with Willow.

"I couldn't stop it."

Buffy frowned. "Stop what? Kennedy, what did this to you?"

"It was...it was just a vampire." Kennedy took great pain in swallowing, but she continued. "We were out, and we were patrolling, and we couldn't stop it. I couldn't...I just, I couldn't."

"Whoa," said Willow. "Let's just back up the train of destruction. Who's we?"

There was a pause, and Buffy took this opportunity to clean up some of the wounds and wrap them. She frowned again, not understanding why the wounds had not started healing all on their own. One of the gifts bestowed upon the Slayer was a remarkably fast healing capability.

"Me and Vi," Kennedy answered.

Vi was one of the dozens of girls who had come to the Summers' residence under a year ago with the news that they were Potentials. Vi, Kennedy, and a dozen other girls could possibly one day be the Slayer in the event of the current one's death. With Willow's spell successful however, they were now all Chosen.

"Ok, so, let me get this straight," Buffy attempted to clarify. "You and Vi decided at, oh say, two this morning that you were going to take your new powers out for a spin?" She waited for an answer, but got none. "So how'd that work out for ya?"

"It didn't," was Kennedy's only answer.

Willow, confused, asked, "Didn't what?"

Kennedy swallowed again and took another deep breath. "It didn't work. I tried to fight it, tried to keep it back, but it wouldn't kick in. The power. It wasn't there, and the vampire was so strong." She looked up into Willow's eyes again, and from there, into Buffy's. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"It might help if you actually said it," said Buffy. She realized that she might be coming off as a bit cranky, but three in the morning, and no sleep since she'd finished the biggest battle of her life...she was tired.

"We tried to fight it off. Tried to stop the vampire, but neither of us had any strength." She paused to stop the tears before continuing. "We couldn't fight it back. I just barely escaped."

Willow stared in Kennedy's eyes, trying to maintain eye contact. Buffy asked the question she was dreading, but knew had to be asked. "And what about Vi?"

Kennedy looked back up at Buffy. "It killed her."


End file.
